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Old 18-Oct-2005, 03:27
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Default Auxiliary verbs

Given this sentence:

How simple it would have been had I been there.

Is the following true:

1) "would" is a auxiliary verb.
2) "have" is a auxiliary verb
3) "been" is a auxiliary verb.
4) "had" is a auxiliary verb?
5) "I" is a pronoun.
6) "been" is a verb?

Thank you.
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Old 18-Oct-2005, 11:59
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Default Re: Auxiliary verbs

EX: How simple it would have been had I been there.

The following are true:

1) "would" is a modal auxiliary verb.
2) "have" is an auxiliary verb.
3) "been" is an auxiliary verb.
4) "had" is an auxiliary verb.
5) "I" is a subject pronoun.
6) "been" functions as the main verb.

Here's the same sentence but re-ordered:

EX: Had I been there, it would have been how simple.

Note that, "had I" is another way of saying "If I had":

EX: If I had been there . . . . => Had I been there . . . .

Note also, "been . . . simple" is a copular structure; i.e., be simple, is simple, was simple, been simple.
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Old 18-Oct-2005, 17:25
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Default Re: Auxiliary verbs

I read that up to 5 auxiliary verbs can be in a row in a sentence but have not been able to find an example of one. Do you have one?
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Old 19-Oct-2005, 12:54
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Default Re: Auxiliary verbs

Got me on that one.
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